Michael Buble turned down judging role on The Voice that went to Ricky Martin

CANADIAN singer Michael Buble has revealed he was in line to replace Keith Urban on The Voice.

The Australian arm of the TV hit wooed the chart topper after he was a guest mentor on the American version of The Voice last year.

Global promotion for his new album To Be Loved ruled Buble out of a lengthy stint in Australia, with Ricky Martin taking the job.

"I couldn’t do it now," he said.

"It’s been talked about in America too. How do I do it? I’ve got 40 something countries I want to tour in. How do I tour 40 countries and make records and be a family guy when I’m doing a TV show?"

Buble said US Voice judge Blake Shelton wanted him to join the program.

"He said to me 'It’s simple, you only have to be here for five weeks’ but it’s not that simple. It’s more than just five weeks, there’s publicity and other things you need to do later on once it’s on air, so no, not now. But I’d love to do it one day. Being a mentor was a load of fun. I loved the camaraderie."

Debate from viewers watching on Twitter ranged from questioning whether audio problems meant Buble struggled to hear himself to suggesting he may have been inebriated - 'drunk Buble’ was briefly a trending topic on Twitter.

News Limited spoke to a lucid Buble for 30 minutes immediately prior his TV performance; the singer under the influence of nothing stronger than serious jetlag.

"On the red carpet I could start to feel the cold sweat of hardcore jetlag," Buble said just before he took to the stage.

"I’m hurting."

Buble skipped the Logies afterparties to return to his hotel and flew out of Melbourne this afternoon to return to Europe to continue promoting his album, which is released on Friday.

"It’s a big schedule. In Europe sometimes we do three countries in one day," he said.

The singer’s wife, Argentinian actress Luisana Lopilato will give birth to his son in August.

The expectant first-time father is changing his tour schedule to ensure he will not spend long periods of time away from home.

"I want to tour in a more manageable way. It’s going to be three weeks on, two weeks off. It’s just going to take me longer. Instead of being a year and a bit tour it’ll be a two year tour."

Buble has yet to announce his next tour, but will perform 10 shows at London’s 02 Arena in June and July.